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How will Southampton fare at the start of the season?

By Christian Bird

BRENTFORD, ENGLAND - JULY 22: John Egan of Brentford tries to tackle Charlie Austin of Southampton during the Pre Season Friendly match between Brentford and Southampton at Griffin Park on July 22, 2017 in Brentford, England. (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)
BRENTFORD, ENGLAND - JULY 22: John Egan of Brentford tries to tackle Charlie Austin of Southampton during the Pre Season Friendly match between Brentford and Southampton at Griffin Park on July 22, 2017 in Brentford, England. (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images) /
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Following Wednesday night’s 4-0 loss to Augsburg, the start of the Premier League campaign is looming, with only Sevilla standing between them and the start of the season. How will Saints fair in the first few games of the season?

Southampton have Swansea at home to kick-off with, hopefully, to get off to a good start. It is never wise to predict the outcome of a season by judging on the position of a team after the first few games, however, these games are definitely winnable, even against hot Champions League favourites Manchester United.

They still have the tough task of traveling to the London Stadium on 19th August where they face West Ham, followed by a second away match against newcomers Huddersfield Town.

Southampton will need to quickly bounce back after a dismal defeat against German side Augsburg ahead of the match against Sevilla, and although nothing is determined at this early stage, it is still important to get off to a good start to build confidence.

Following the game against Huddersfield the team will have to face two more teams who could finish around them come May – Watford and Crystal Palace.

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 02: Sofiane Boufal of Southamton is tackled by Gojko Kacar of FC Augsburg during the Pre-Season Friendly match between Southampton and FC Augsburg at St Mary’s Stadium on August 2, 2017 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 02: Sofiane Boufal of Southamton is tackled by Gojko Kacar of FC Augsburg during the Pre-Season Friendly match between Southampton and FC Augsburg at St Mary’s Stadium on August 2, 2017 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images) /

Furthermore, fans are restless and want their team to win wherever they can, especially against teams that do not challenge for the top four or the title. Southampton will face all of last season’s top four in the six weeks leading up to new year’s day.

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It means that before November Manchester United are the only ‘top’ team the Saints will come up against, making the start of the campaign hugely crucial in order to secure a solid finish.

Even the most optimistic Southampton fan will admit that the Christmas run-in could see the side drop down a few places in the table, meaning the opening fixtures are even more important than they may seem.

With the belief and quality surrounding the Saints, there’s much hope that they will get off to the right kind of start and play their own brand of football throughout the season to finish as high up the table as possible. The league is getting stronger year after year, already highly-regarded as Europe’s Premier Division, but with that is the suspected growth of Southampton Football Club.

We wait to see how Mauricio Pellegrino will handle life in England and the prospect ahead, but as the transfer window remains open and a few key players still displaying uncertainty about their future, he faces a tantalizing start.